Don Sandel

Authors

Founder of GoPositiv and a long-time talent development leader who spent decades inside organizations designing learning experiences that actually worked. A dynamic presenter with a sharp sense of humor, Don became deeply interested in how the brain learns and what enables people to bring their best selves to work.

Modern Author Program

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“Once I had structure, accountability, and editors holding me to a standard, writing the book went from painful to something I couldn’t wait to do.”

— Don Sandel

What Changed?

A single leadership workshop, grounded in neuroscience and positivity research, unexpectedly developed a waitlist. That signal repeated across internal programs, global conferences, and client engagements. Demand kept growing, but the ideas lived mostly in workshops and talks.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Support a consulting or speaking business
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Not a confident writer
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Founder / entrepreneur
Consultant / advisor

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Satish Shenoy

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Authors

Senior global business executive and award-winning public speaker who has scaled partner ecosystems from seed-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies, generating over $200M in revenue. Parallel to his business career, Satish completed full marathons on all seven continents, including Antarctica.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“Without the structure, accountability, and editorial guidance, I don’t think I could have finished this book.”

— Satish Shenoy

What Changed?

Repeated speaking engagements revealed a pattern: audiences consistently resonated with the idea of progress through “one more step.” What began as a personal endurance philosophy evolved into a broader framework for sustainable growth, resilience, and leadership.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Support a consulting or speaking business
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Executive / C-suite
Consultant / advisor

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Jennifer Davis

Authors

Senior marketing and strategy executive with decades of experience at companies like AWS, Intel, and Honeywell, known among peers as an “idea machine,” who had long been fascinated by how decisions actually get made, but had never consolidated that thinking into a single framework.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“The editorial process was instrumental in helping me take years of thinking about decisions and turn it into something clear, structured, and usable.”

—Jennifer Davis

What Changed?

The book became a forcing function. What had lived as fragmented insights across roles, companies, and conversations was finally organized into a coherent model for better decision-making. The result wasn’t just a book, but a repeatable way to explain, teach, and apply decision discipline across organizations.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Clarify and organize my ideas
Establish a category or methodology
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
First-time author
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Executive / C-suite
Consultant / advisor

Watch Deep Dive

Christopher Veal

Authors

Former Marine Corps officer, executive coach, and leadership development professional with 25+ years of experience working inside organizations, helping leaders build trust, connection, and performance. A Black man who has led in high-stakes environments where strength was assumed to mean control, Christopher had long been doing the work of redefining masculinity and leadership, but hadn’t yet put language or structure around it.

Modern Author Program

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“What I realized through writing the book is that everyone is on their own journey. My job is to keep doing the work, even when vulnerability feels uncomfortable.”

—Christopher Veal

What Changed?

The book became a clarifying lens. What had existed as lived experience, coaching conversations, and internal reflection was shaped into a coherent examination of modern masculinity. Writing forced Christopher to move from personal understanding to shared language, from individual growth to collective relevance.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Nonprofit or mission-driven leader
Consultant / advisor

Watch Deep Dive

Tom Weirich

Authors

Senior renewable energy marketing leader with nearly two decades inside the clean energy transition, deeply embedded in the industry but seeking a more reflective, lasting contribution beyond day-to-day deal flow.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“This writing journey gave me a moment to step back and ask where I’ve been, where I’m going, and where I still want to make an impact.”

—Tom Weirich

What Changed?

Writing We Took the Risk gave Tom space to reflect on the people and moments that shaped the renewable energy industry. What began as curiosity turned into a legacy project that renewed his confidence as a writer, sharpened his thinking, and reignited a sense of purpose for the next chapter of his career.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Establish a category or methodology
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Executive / C-suite
Healthcare or technical professional

Watch Deep Dive

Dr. Laura Streyffeler

Authors

Clinical psychologist, trauma expert, educator, and speaker with decades of experience working across counseling, forensic psychology, and higher education, who had accumulated immense insight but lacked a structured way to transmit it at scale.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“The book helped me bring together a lifelong journey, my personal experience, my professional work, and the healing of others, into one place.”

—Dr. Laura Streyffeler

What Changed?

The book became the mechanism that allowed Dr. Streyffeler to consolidate her personal journey, clinical expertise, and unconventional perspectives into a coherent, accessible framework. What once lived across years of practice, teaching, and speaking was transformed into a durable body of work that could reach far beyond her individual sessions or classrooms.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Clarify and organize my ideas
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Healthcare or technical professional
Academic / educator

Watch Deep Dive

Kyle Garman

Authors

Technology executive, investor, and board member of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship who felt a growing responsibility to prepare young people for the future of work. The book emerged at a personal inflection point, driven by fatherhood, loss, and a desire to leave something meaningful behind.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“I reached a point where I asked myself, what have I done that’s truly about other people? Writing this book crystallized that mission.”

—Kyle Garman

What Changed?

Writing The Entrepreneurial Mindset transformed Kyle’s concern about education and workforce readiness into a clear, accessible framework for students, educators, and parents. The book became a unifying artifact for his advocacy work, earning national recognition and expanding the reach of his mission.

Goal

Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Build authority or thought leadership
Establish a category or methodology

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
First-time author
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Executive / C-suite
Nonprofit or mission-driven leader

→ Read the full case study

Entrepreneurial Mindset Book

Haley Hoffman Smith

Authors

Early-stage entrepreneur and digital creator who used Her Big Idea to process failure, clarify her message, and articulate a mission centered on empowering women to pursue bold ideas. The book became the foundation for a speaking career, community, and long-term platform.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“When I wrote the book, it all felt aligned. That’s when everything else started to follow.”

—Haley Hoffman Smith

What Changed?

Writing Her Big Idea helped Haley confront and integrate her entrepreneurial failure into a coherent narrative. That clarity unlocked confidence, credibility, and momentum—leading to a national speaking tour, full-time motivational speaking, and the creation of an organization supporting female entrepreneurship.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Founder / entrepreneur
Consultant / advisor

Roger Osorio

Authors

Reinvention expert, educator, and entrepreneur who had already lived multiple career transitions but needed a cohesive framework to connect his experiences into a teachable, repeatable model. The book became the backbone of his work at The School of Reinvention.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“What surprised me most was how much more I learned about reinvention by writing the book. My education accelerated exponentially through the process.”

—Roger Osorio

What Changed?

Writing The Journey to Reinvention transformed Roger’s lived experiences into a structured philosophy. What had been intuitive and experiential became explicit, teachable, and scalable—fueling his coaching platform, academic teaching, and speaking work.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Establish a category or methodology
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Founder / entrepreneur
Academic / educator
Consultant / advisor

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Derek Gaunt

Authors

Veteran hostage negotiator and leadership trainer with nearly three decades in law enforcement who needed a way to translate high-stakes field experience into a durable leadership philosophy. The book became the vehicle to capture lessons learned under real pressure and make them usable outside crisis situations.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. That applies to negotiations, leadership, and writing a book.”

—Derek Gaunt

What Changed?

Writing Ego, Authority, Failure allowed Derek to distill decades of experience into principles that apply across leadership, negotiations, and personal growth. What had previously been situational and instinctive became explicit, teachable, and transferable to corporate and civilian contexts.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Support a consulting or speaking business
Establish a category or methodology
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Not a confident writer
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Consultant / advisor
Executive / C-suite

Watch Deep Dive

https://www.blackswanltd.com/derek-gaunt